A Kamloops woman is out $12,000 after she fell victim to an elaborate telephone scam, according to the RCMP.

Sgt. Darren Michels says police got a complaint yesterday from the woman who told them she was contacted by someone who claimed to be from a major credit card company’s head office and asked for help in catching bank employees who were giving out personal information.

In addition the woman was also told she was being investigated for fraud to see if she had any involvement.

This woman then reportedly spoke to several people who claimed to be from the credit card company, who told her not to call her bank as they ‘may be in on things’. The woman was told by the scammers that they were working with police and she was given a verification code and told to expect a call from a local bank soon.

A short while later RCMP say the woman got a call from a man who claimed to be a manager from one of the ‘big banks’ and asked her for that code. Once the code was given, the scammer was able to give the woman with details about a purchase she made recently on her credit card and then asked for some personal banking verification questions.

The woman was then told to use her credit card to buy several gift cards, which she did, before reading out the gift card numbers to the person on the phone .

After the call, police say the woman tried to call the telephone number she was given but was met with an answering machine that told her she had reached the credit card company’s head office.

“Some of these scams appear to be very legitimate and are very detailed to make you believe they are real when in fact, they are not,” Michels said, “If you are ever in doubt, hang up and call your local bank at the publicly posted number or personally attend the bank.”

“Never provide personal banking information or passwords with anyone over the phone.”

 

Telephone scams like this one are not new, police say, noting there are several new ones that touch of COVID-19. For a list of the common scams, go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

If you have been a victim of such a scam, police say to report it to them as quickly as possible.